Clean Slate environments are a type of training database that come from one of three source types:

• Model environments: Blank, save for basic data structures that depend on lifecycle (that is, Admissions, Student Success, or Advancement).

• Showcase environments: A database loaded with examples of Slate functionality. You can import many of these objects into your test or production database using the Suitcase tool.

• Preferred Partner environments: These are special-purpose databases for our Preferred Partners, provisioned as part of events surrounding Slate Summit.

When you’re in a Clean Slate database, this banner appears at the top of every page:

Model Clean Slate environments

These minimalist databases contain the bare minimum: a single test person record, basic fields, decision codes, et cetera.

Your production database was likely provisioned from a model database similar to these options.

You can use this database for training purposes. New Slate users can practice without fear of impacting production data or accidentally sending communications, which do not deliver in test environments.

📖 Further reading: Test Environments

Showcase Clean Slate environments

Clean Slate a little too clean? Showcase environments are a great way to learn Slate best practices by example.

Showcase environments, which come in Admissions, Student Success, and Advancement flavors, are pre-loaded with sample data and common use cases.

You can use Suitcase Import to make a copy of many of the Showcase environment’s data objects and bring them into your production or test environment.

Provisioning a Clean Slate environment

Note that, if you already have a Clean Slate environment, provisioning a new one erases all in-progress work in the existing Clean Slate environment. Proceed with provisioning only if there is nothing in Clean Slate left to be migrated to production.

🔔 Once erased, there is no way to recover a previous version of Clean Slate.

You should also consult with your Slate Administrators or other members of your Slate team before requesting a refresh with an active Clean Slate database. Communication is key: if you request a refresh of your Clean Slate environment, it will refresh for everyone.

To provision a Clean Slate environment:

1. In a production environment, select Database.

2. In the Auditing section, select Launch Clean Slate.

3. Take note of the Status of your institution's Clean Slate environment:

   • Active: A Clean Slate environment has already been provisioned for your institution and is in use.

   • Not Provisioned: Your institution has not provisioned a Clean Slate environment.

   • Expired: A Clean Slate environment was provisioned for your institution but has yet to be accessed in the past 30 days.
     

If your Clean Slate is active

1. Select Launch Clean Slate.

2. Confirm with your team that no one is using the Active Clean Slate.

3. Select the arrow, then Request Refresh, to generate a new Clean Slate.

   

If your Clean Slate is Not Provisioned or Expired

If your Clean Slate is Not Provisioned or Expired:

1. Click Provision. A pop-up appears.
   

2. From the Source list, select Slate Model, Slate Advancement Model, or Slate Admissions/Advancement Model.

3. Select at least one Slate user as Initial Administrator(s). Only administrators can provide new users with access to the Clean Slate.

4. Add a Memo if desired. The memo will be displayed to users prior to requesting a refresh of the environment and may be used to provide details of intended use.

5. Select Provision/Request Refresh. A confirmation pop-up appears.

6. Enter the required text into the confirmation pop-up and click OK.

   

📝 Provisioning or refreshing a Clean Slate environment may take up to three hours.

To access your new Clean Slate environment:

• Select the endpoint URL, or

• Select Launch Clean Slate

✨ Bookmark your Clean Slate environment's URL for easy access, especially if your team is involved in a Fundamentals course.

Adding user accounts to Clean Slate environments

If users who were added to your production environment after a Clean Slate environment was provisioned need access to the Clean Slate environment, you can add those accounts to Clean Slate directly.

There are two ways to add user accounts to Clean Slate: manually, or in bulk with Upload Dataset.

Option 1: Manually add users to Clean Slate

This option has you manually recreating accounts in the Clean Slate environment. This is the fastest method for a small number of users.

To manually recreate user accounts in Clean Slate:

1. Launch your Clean Slate environment.

2. From the main navigation, select Database. Under Users & Access, select User Permissions.

3. Click New User.

4. Configure the user's account as you did in the production environment.

Option 2: Add new users to Clean Slate with Upload Dataset

Using a query in your production environment and Upload Dataset in Clean Slate, you can move a large number of user accounts at once.

To add multiple accounts to Clean Slate with Upload Dataset:

Step 1: Export new users from production

1. Launch your production environment.

2. From the main navigation, select Queries / Reports.

3. Click New Query or Quick Query. A pop-up appears.

4. In the pop-up, configure the following:

   • Type: Configurable Joins

   • Category: Related

   • Base: User

5. Click Save.

6. Click Export. A pop-up appears. Under User, Click Select All.
   Note: The following items are required for user account creation:

   • User GUID

   • First Name

   • Last Name

   • Email Address

7. Click Continue.

8. Click Filter. A pop-up appears.

9. Under User, Select Created Date.

10. Click Continue.

11. Enter a Start Date, End Date, or both that narrows the results to time period following the provisioning of your Clean Slate environment and the creation of the new user accounts.

12. Click Save.

13. Once satisfied with the query, click Run Query.

14. Click Export.

Step 2: Import new users to Clean Slate

1. Launch Clean Slate.

2. From the main navigation, select Database. Under Import, select Sources / Upload Dataset.

3. Click Upload Dataset.

4. If desired, select a current Folder, or select Other to add a folder.

5. Add the file containing the new user information, then click Upload.

6. On the right, click Build Import.

7. From the list of Field Mappings, connect the source mappings to a destination mapping (including, at the least: User GUID, First Name, Last Name, and Email Address).

8. On the right, click Prompt Value Mappings.

9. Assign the user permissions as needed.

10. On the right, click Review & Run Import.

11. Click Run Import.

12. From the main navigation, select Database. Under Import, select Force Process Import. Click Back in your browser and return to Sources / Upload Dataset.

13. Select the user records from the list. A pop-up appears.

14. Click Create New.

15. From the main navigation, select Database. Under Users & Access, select User Permissions.

16. On the right, click Inactive Users.

17. Select the new user account or accounts from the list and click Edit User.

18. Select Enable account for access. Click Save.